President Joe Biden signed a one-week stopgap funding bill on Friday to avert a government shutdown, extending the deadline until Friday, December 23rd to allow congressional negotiators more time to finalize a full-year funding deal. The House approved the measure on Wednesday, and the Senate voted on Thursday evening to pass the bill, a day before funding was set to expire. The measure passed the House by a vote of 224-201 and in the Senate by a margin of 75-20.
The $1.7 trillion omnibus appears to be on track for passage ahead of the Friday deadline after appropriations and leadership staff worked through the weekend to finalize negotiations. Final legislative text is expected to be filed later today allowing the Senate time to pass the bill no later than Thursday, with House action to quickly follow. A rewrite of the Electoral Count Act is expected to be included. All of the work on the omnibus has occurred without any input from House Republicans, as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, (R-California) has indicated his objection to a broader spending deal now, much preferring to take-up a spending bill when Republicans control the House starting January 3rd. McCarthy’s opposition is in direct contrast to his Republican counterparts in the Senate where Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-Kentucky), wants to wrap up all business of the 117th Congress by December 23rd. McConnell said on December 13th that Republican senators would not return to Congress after the holidays and that instead, they would back another short-term CR into early next year. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, (D-Maryland), announced December 15th that the House will return on December 21st pending Senate action on the omnibus, and will stay in session until the omnibus is completed.
While the Senate waits on the omnibus text, it will continue processing nominations including Martin J. Gruenberg to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
